Christmas carol

A Christmas carol is a song that is sung at Christmas, because of the lyrics makes a reference to the holiday. Songs with liturgical terms are sung at Christian religious services, other songs also for the family and for Christmas gift giving in a variety of frame. They also form the basis for many concerts that are held primarily for choirs. Commercial importance obtained carols in the weeks before Christmas by their presence in radio and television, as well as background music at Christmas markets and in department stores.

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Conceptual distinctions

The term " carol " is used in different meanings wide. This, like the variety of Christmas songs, is related to the long and varied socio-cultural history of the Christmas carol, which determines the diversity of today's existing Christmas songs.

In the English language the term " Christmas carol ", which does not include all the carols, but only those where the music takes on a more traditional form exists. So White Christmas would be, for example, by this definition, not a " carol ", but " only" a song because the musical style does not match the tradition of Carols. As for the text, however, did not differ between Carols and other Christmas songs.

However, there are also different cross-language definitions of what can be described as a Christmas song. Some songs have only one winter, but not an explicitly Christmas - religious terms. They are still sung only in the time around Christmas; eg Jingle Bells, whose lyrics are about a sleigh ride, which might as well take place around February. There are also songs that are closely associated with Christmas traditions, but are likely to be classified as a begging or drinking song, for example, the song A Bone, God Wot! from the 16th century, which can be classified in the wassailing tradition, but is classified as a Christmas Carol from the Cottonian Collection of the British Museum.

"Christmas Song " - " Winter Song "

In the most common usage refers to "Christmas song" all the songs that are sung during the Christmas season, including so-called " winter songs " without explicit reference Christmas, such as snow flakes, white skirt. These songs are strongly associated with Christmas because they often appear next to Christmas carols in the strict sense in Christmas books, and also because they occur in the secularized Christmas context - for example, at Christmas markets. A narrower term includes just this winter songs from the " Christmas carols ", and is limited to denominational songs whose text explicitly to the Christian Christmas, that is, on the birth of Jesus Christ, refers.

"Christmas Song " - " Advent Song "

An even finer, originating from the liturgy differentiation distinguishes other hand, between "Christmas Song " on the one hand and " Advent Song ". In the liturgical year the Advent symbolizes (from the Latin adventus - " Arrival " ) the time before the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ, the time of waiting for the promised Messiah in the Old Testament. The Advent songs express, therefore, often with reference to the Old Testament, the longing for the coming of the promised Messiah. Examples are There comes a ship, loaded and How should I receive you. In contrast to these Advent songs called " Christmas Carol " in the strictest sense of songs celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Because the Christmas season in the church year lasts until Epiphany on January 6 or until Candlemas on February 2, also liturgical songs from this period be counted among the liturgical carols.

History

The oldest Christmas carols in western culture were Latin hymns that were sung in the Mass and in the Liturgy of the Hours. In the Middle Ages the custom of this, the iron to combine with German songs, developed. One example is Blessed art thou, Jesus Christ ( EC 23 ), the first verse of 1380 comes and was sung to the sequence of the Midnight Mass Grates nunc omnes. In some Christmas carols, this German - Latin hybrid has received, so in dulci jubilo In and Quempas. In the Middle Ages carols first dive on in church liturgy. There is no evidence that this first Christmas carols were sung at home. They usually have Latin texts, or Latin- German mixed texts. ( An example of this is: This est laetitiae with the German stanzas The day, which is so full of joy ). They were part of the Midnight Mass, usually end with the cry of " Kyrie eleison " ( " Lord, have mercy " ) and are therefore referred to as the "quiet ". ( An example is Let us welcome, Herre Christ. )

Another root of the Weihnachstliedes was the Kindel weighing, a work written convents of Christmas custom, and the cultivated there mysticism. From this group, comes the German Christmas carol Joseph, lieber Joseph mein, a lullaby from the Monk of Salzburg (14th century) was recorded.

The singing of Christmas carols in the church service was clear impetus by Martin Luther, - a series of Christmas songs created in German language - according to his Reformation thought to hold the Mass in German language. Luther transferred this already established Latin texts into German, to join his texts to the liturgical tradition and to fill known tunes with understandable texts. He came therefore to a Protestant song wave, which saw itself as fighting a counter-movement to the Catholic church singing. For all the Reformation critique of forms of popular Christmas custom of, however, Martin Luther was not afraid to take folk ways, and created with Vom Himmel hoch a Christmas song, which was a reworking of a wreath song.

Only in the 18th century held the Christmas collection in the family rooms and there experienced a bloom in the 19th century, as evidenced by numerous Neudichtungen. The Christmas song as a church chorale migrated as a solo song with piano accompaniment in the " parlor " of the bourgeoisie. 1870/71 produced some Christmas carols in German national style. It created songs that were initially intended for the private or domestic devotion and from there sometimes found their way into church music and then into the hymnals. To this end, I heard stand at your crib here by Paul Gerhardt.

In the 19th century also songs from other countries found their way to Germany. Friedrich Heinrich Ranke wrote in 1823 the carol O come, all ye faithful ( Adeste Fideles by the Latin, music probably by John Francis Wade, 1711-1786, EC 45), and Johannes Daniel Falk ( 1768-1826 ) and Heinrich Holzschuher ( 1798-1847 ) wrote O Holy Night on the melody of the Italian song O Marie sanctissima. Karl Riedel (1827-1888) made ​​the Bohemian song Come, ye shepherds in Germany at home and led a renaissance of the older carols such as The shepherds glorified, honor and Es ist ein Ros a sprung.

The best known and probably most widely used Christmas carol Silent Night, Holy Night also dates from the 19th century. Likewise, many other carols from the English-speaking world, such as the first printed versions of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, The First Noel, I Saw Three Ships and Hark! Published The Herald Angels Sing, all in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern ( 1833) by William B. Sandys. Composers like Arthur Sullivan helped to help the Christmas song to new popularity, and from this period come songs like Good King Wenceslas and It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, a Christmas song from New England by Edmund H. Sears and Richard S. Willis.

At the same time, however, the changes in the piety and the emergence of bourgeois Christmas in the 19th century were the first songs arise in which not more of the birth of Jesus is mentioned. The up to now most famous of these songs is O Tannenbaum. This was not originally a Christmas song, but a sad love song from August Zarnack whose second verse with " O maiden, O maiden, how wrong is your mind " began. It was later rewritten by Ernst Anschütz. Santa Claus ( Father Christmas morning comes ) and natural romantic elements ( Softly Falls the Snow ) are other motives that were added in the 19th century.

This flow has been revived in the 20th century during the time of National Socialism, as with Hans Baumann with High night of bright stars, which has remained very popular in the so -grown generation. In the Third Reich Hitler Youth operational efforts towards de-Christianization and mythologizing of Christmas, which is reflected in many profanierenden Umdichtungen. This Umdichtungen have usually not been successful. However, it is for us is a time where the complete text revision and transformation of the Aargau star Dreher march, a portrayal of the Christmas story in a winter hiking song until today.

In the GDR there was with songs like Are the lights lit, thousands of stars are a Dom and anticipation, Best Little new examples of non-Christian carols.

In Switzerland there with songs like It schneielet, it beielet and new compositions in the sky vo Wält examples of modern style cross carols.

With the globalization and commercialization of Christmas and foreign-language songs came more ( esp. English) to Germany. In addition, Christmas carols are now also played in the Advent season. For some years there are on the internet also increasingly pure Christmas radios that continuously playing Christmas carols in the period from early November to late December. However, the tradition of Advent is preserved, especially in the churches; there Advent songs are played and sung instead.

Known Christmas Carols

See list of German Christmas songs and carols list of foreign-language

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